Israel National News: Zehut chairman supports son after call to refuse orders

Zehut party Chairman and former MK Moshe Feiglin expressed solidarity with his son, Avi Feiglin, a footsoldier in the Kfir brigade, who said that he intended to refuse orders which endanger the lives of IDF soldiers by attempting to minimize harm to Arab rioters.

Last night, Avi Feiglin uploaded a post to Facebook, in which he related how, several months ago during a brigade educational evening, a ‘Charuv’ battalion commander from the brigade had spoken about an operational “success” over which he had commanded during the period of Operation Protective Edge, near the community of Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion.

The goal of the operation was to identify and capture terrorists who had routinely been shooting at soldiers containing riots in the area. Avi said that, according to the plan, “The soldiers would manage the riot as usual, while snipers would be stationed at the entrance gate of Migdal Oz. When the snipers identified who was shooting at the soldiers during the riot, they would neutralize him with a bullet to the foot.”

Avi blasted the “impotent” plan, concluding, “More than all the injustices in this story, I am enraged by two things: 1) We used soldiers as bait to ‘catch’ a terrorist, not kill him. 2) Standing in front of us is a commander from the Charuv battalion, now a special unit, presenting the events as a war story, as an operational success. That commander’s place is in civilian jail after being booted from the IDF, and so also for the whole chain of command that approved this activity.”

“I am still a soldier in regular service, and any time my blood and the blood of my comrades is abandoned in the name of political correctness and the dark/warped value system of the general staff and the government - I intend to refuse orders every time I am called on to contain a riot, with all the accompanying consequences, until there is change here.”

Moshe Feiglin shared his son’s post to Facebook, commenting, “Most IDF soldiers killed in recent years were killed due to preference for the well-being of a hostile population to the lives of our sons.”

“Instead of warning the population and calling on it to evacuate the area and then obliterate aerially, they send soldiers into alleyways and tunnels.

“Instead of marking a line over which one who crosses is cut down, they send soldiers to deal with civilians and get killed from afar by sniper fire.

“Instead of eliminating launchers of kites, they let the south burn. As a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, I opposed entry into Gaza during Protective Edge. If you don’t have intention to be victorious, don’t play deadly games with our sons.”

Feiglin concluded regarding his son’s decision: “He is now going to get all the friendly fire - my son - but every Hebrew mother should know, that there are brave and responsible soldiers, who act even now to save her sons from the senior command, which is worried about the court in the Hague more than protecting the lives of those it commands.”

“It is irrelevant what they say - I am very proud of you.”

The posts come after two soldiers were recently hit by snipers as they responded to riots along the Gaza border. Soldier Aviv Levi was killed, while the other soldier was moderately wounded near the same location several days later.